Forever a Skater
by lilanimefan1
Summary: Illusion Mirror is back in town! After being chased out of Tokyo by the PJ's, they vowed to return and reclaim their stolen turf. But, only three out of the original number returned, and the PJ's have been recruting... Will they chose to join up with the
1. Proloug

_**Ok. This is my first JSRF fanfic, so flames are accepted. I need a least a little constructive criticism. So be harsh!**_

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" A 17-year-old girl with jet black hair wearing a black tank top, black cargo pants, and black skates with bright blue flames on them skidded to a halt in front of her gang's leader.

"Yes, I'm sure," she said, brushing back some of her emerald green hair. "I'm the Goddess of Dogensaka Hill, there's no way I could get lost," she added. As she was turning back to the way she came, something caught her eye. "Oh no."

"What is it Style?"

Style stifled a small giggle. "It seems that we no longer control Dogensaka," she said, trying to hide the smug look on her face.

"Then who does," an extremely serious looking young girl with neon yellow hair said. She was wearing a yellow tube top, a yellow raincoat-type jacket, blue jeans, and yellow skates.

Style pointed to the graffiti that caught her eye earlier. "Look at the graffiti and figure it out for yourself, Rhyth," she said.

Rhyth skated over to the graffiti to take a better look. "Well, at least a _good_ band of rudies took it over," she said after her little inspection.

"Who?"

"Don't be so dense, Streak! Can't you tell?" Style continued to glare at Streak, waiting for her to answer. Streak touched her index finger to her chin and rolled her eyes upward.

"Not a clue!" She smiled as she watched Style and Rhyth both sigh.

"Duh! The GG's you moron!" Rhyth skated over to Streak and slapped her upside the head.

"Ouch! Well I'm sorry! I've never even heard of them!" Streak rubbed the spot the Rhyth had just hit. "You don't know you're own strength, do you?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Rhyth said, shrugging. Style absentmindedly twirled a strand of her green hair.

'I wonder if they've got the sewers?' She thought.

_**Well, it is a prologue! So don't blame me for it being so short! Please click the purple button and review. BTW, I do own these characters, if you would like to use them in any story I implore that you check with me first. Thanx**_


	2. Intro

Chapter 1

Intro

Beat ground down the railroad tracks in Rokkaku-dai Heights, doing _Corn's _periodical check of the GG's territory. So far, no enemy graffiti had been spotted on their turf. He jumped off of the tracks and skated over to the dog and her puppies. He picked up one of them, looked it straight in the eye, and said, "Are you ever going to get bigger?" Then he heard the sound of a spray can and saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of his eye. "Hey!" He rushed towards the intruder and flagged her down. "This is GG turf, beat it!" The girl turned around and glared at him, and he was surprised to see that she had yellow eyes.

"Really?" She said. "Well, then tell Corn Style and her flunkies are back and raring to go!" She turned away and jumped onto one of the walls and skated/jumped away. Beat stood speechless and confused.

"Who was that," he asked no one in particular.

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"Are you sure it wasn't anyone from a rival gang?" Corn was beginning to become agitated. Beat shook his head again.

"I would know if someone new showed up in one of the gangs," he protested. Corn sighed and reclined on the couch, the late afternoon sun on his face.

"She didn't say anything," he asked. The question jogged Beat's memory. Since he had still had 99th street to cover before he came back, he had completely forgotten about what the girl had told him.

"Well, she did say to tell you that Style and her flunkies were back and were raring to go, whatever that means." Corn bolted upright.

"Did you say Style?" He stood up and grabbed Beat on the shoulders in a vice like grip. "Tell me you didn't say that name!" Beat nodded nervously.

"I did," he said. Corn let go of Beat and dropped his arms to his sides, dumbfounded. He regained his composure and jumped off of the platform. He skated over to Gum, who was playing with Spike, YoYo's dog, and relayed the news to her.

"That can't be," she said, completely taken off guard.

"It is," Corn said. Gum shook her head, still unable to accept the truth.

"Why would they come back after all this time? I mean, didn't Laila leave for good."

"We thought she did," Corn said.

"Yo, kid!" Combo skated over to them from his position under the platform. "I couldn't help but hear you and Beat talkin' 'bout Style. That the same Style I'm thinkin' of?" Corn and Gum nodded.

"Yea," Corn said. Combo shook his head in disgust.

"Always did give me the creeps. She the leader now?"

"From what Beat told me..." Corn said gravely. Combo sighed.

"So, I guess that means Laila's gone."

"That, or Style overthrew her," Gum said, disgust showing all to well. Combo put his boom box down and sat down on the cement.

"She was a good kid, a great rudie, and an even better leader." Corn lowered his eyes and nodded in agreement.

"She was a brave one, too," he said. "And the only one good enough to take blame for the entire situation."

"Situation?" YoYo, coming from Shibuya Terminal, skated over to Corn. Corn took off his hat and ruffled his hair.

"I guess we'd better tell ya, seein' as you're going to get sucked into this sooner or later. Hey, everyone get down here!" Since most of the gang were in the Garage, so they skated over to Corn. Only a few checkers were gone. He'd have to tell them later, or they would have to find out themselves.

"So, what's going on," Beat asked. Corn shook his head in dismay.

"I'm not sure, but it seems like Illusion Mirror is back, and that Style," he spat out her name as though it left a bad taste in his mouth, "Is the leader," he finished. A collective gasp escaped most mouths in the audience.

"What are you talking about!" Beat skated over to Corn and tried to glare him down. "What does it _mean_?" Corn pushed Beat back, mirroring his glare.

"It doesn't mean _anything _to you, apparently. So back off!" His outburst startled Beat so that he tripped and fell over Spike. Cube laughed.

"So, what happened to my old enemy, Laila." Corn glared at her for being so humorous about it.

"She's gone," he said flatly. That shut her up. Throughout the whole thing, YoYo was about as confused as a skater at a Star Trek convention. So he asked what the "situation" was and what Style's return had to do with them. Corn nodded.

"You have a right to know," he agreed. "The 'situation' happened five years ago. It was a Turf War over Dogensaka Hill between Illusion Mirror and Poison Jam," he said, glaring at Cube the whole time.

"Hey, I didn't start it," she said. YoYo scowled at her for interrupting, and asked Corn to continue.

"At the time, Laila was the Goddess, so she owned most of the turf. The only things she didn't have were the Sewers and the Garage. We were, and still are, her allies, so she shared the turf with us. Other than the PJ's, the only other gangs that existed were us and Illusion Mirror. All the other gangs around today didn't come until after Laila left. So, there wasn't a lot of competition for her to handle. Not that it would have been a problem, though. But, _Cube_ couldn't stand Laila having so much power. So she started the War. After she did that, blood stained Dogensaka's streets. Laila lost many of her friends, and the PJ's suffered severe losses as well. Both sides were left with only four people each, from at least twenty in the beginning. Laila decided that the turf wasn't worth the lives of her last comrades, so she bailed to Nagasaki. Cube never did get the turf she fought for." When he finished, he could see the sad expressions on those that had witnessed the massacre. Beat built up his courage and boldly asked what the GG's had been doing the entire time. "We tried to help Laila," Corn said solemnly. "But she said it was her battle and told us to stay out of it. She knew rudies would die, and she didn't want us to be a part of them. So, we stayed away." Corn absentmindedly kicked the dog house in his frustration. "It was the worst mistake I ever made as a leader. If we had fought, so many wouldn't have died, and Laila could have stayed." His frustration turned to sadness as he skated away into Dogensaka Hill. The group slowly disintegrated as everyone left to absorb the news of Laila's suspected death.

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Later that night, Beat followed Gum onto 99th street's red bridge. She was already dangling her legs between the bars when he caught up with her. She had her head bowed, so he couldn't see her face. He looked at her reflection in the illuminated water and barely made out a tear on her cheek. He skated over to her and sat down. He wrapped his arm around her and asked what was wrong. "Laila was a good friend of mine," she responded. He sighed and pulled her closer, resting her head on his shoulder. After a few minutes, she uttered, "He loved her, you know."

"What?" Gum lifted her head to look at him.

"Corn," she said. "He loved her." Beat then realized why Corn had not come back to the Garage yet. "It must be killing him inside, not knowing if she's alive after all this time," Gum said. Beat nodded sadly.

"And chances are that..."

"She's not," Gum finished for him. She lay her head on his shoulder and let the tears come freely, knowing that Corn would never be able to express himself as she did.

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**_I hope the dialog was easier to understand this time. Thank you Tsukihime26 (I hope I spelled that right ) for reviewing. I hope more people do come back. I like to hear feedback on my stories, good or bad. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_**


	3. Mystery

Chapter 2

Mystery

Corn skated around an ally in Dogensaka, just below the slip leading up to the Goddess's statue. He kicked a piece of trash and looked up to a faded graffiti on the wall. From what he could make out (and from what he already knew), it was a broken heart with a snake holding a blue rose in the middle of the crack. Laila's signature. He reached up and fingered the rose. A sigh escaped him as he took his hand down. To vent his frustration, anger, and sadness, he punched the snake on the head. As his fist struck the brick, his knuckles split, spreading blood all over the graffiti. Some of the blood splashed onto the snakes eyes, giving it a living, accusing appearance. Then, he heard the gnashing sound of skates on a billboard, and then a clanking thud. He didn't have to turn around. He knew. "How'd you do it?" Style scowled at him.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Who wouldn't know," he retorted, turning to face her. "How'd you do it," he asked again. Style shrugged, a grin playing over her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"How'd you kill her," Corn shouted fiercely. "What? Did you poison her? Stab her while she was asleep? What did you do?"

"Awww," she said sarcastically. "Does Corny still love Laila?"

"What's it to you if I do!" He shouted back, clenching his fists. Style laughed harshly.

"It was your love that killed her!" She skated away before he could retort. In her haste, she lost a piece of paper from her pocket. She didn't notice, and so she didn't turn back. Corn was curious, even in his fury, so he skated over and picked it up. He examined it for a few seconds, and then the color drained from his face.

"Wha...?" For the second time that day, Corn was dumbfounded. All he could think was, 'So, she is dead.'

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The pain shot up and down her right leg, the knife seemingly wedging itself deeper into her. But, she couldn't take it out. Not yet. She had to find someplace safe to do that. They were right behind her, their ugly, hulking forms bent over at the back in a grimace. She jumped onto a rail. Her grind faltered at first, but she didn't fall. 'Just a little farther,' she told herself over and over. A knife flew past her and planted itself in a staircase rail. 'I'm almost there,' she thought. She jumped off the rail and flew through a crowd of people, elbowing many in the stomach. She turned down a street and skated as fast as her wounded leg would allow.

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Combo didn't expect to see what he did. He saw a rudie draped in a black trench coat with blood flying everywhere skate into the GG's Garage. Her hair was back in a bandanna, and she had a piece of cloth covering the lower half of her face. A pair of sunglasses obscured her eyes. After that he saw three PJ members fly in after her. One of them carried at least five knifes with him. It was then that Combo noticed the knife in the rudie's leg. Since the rudie was skating towards him, he reached out his arm and grabbed her around the waist and plopped her down on the cement. Then, he took his boom box and bashed each of the PJ members on the head. "Stay off our turf," he yelled after them as they skated away into Shibuya Terminal. Combo turned to the injured rudie, squatting down to talk to her. "Ya know, you should get that looked at." The rudie looked down at her leg, noticing that it was exposed. She yanked part of the trench coat over it.

"I'll been fine," she said. "I just need a place to crash for the night." She picked up the piece of the trench coat and looked at the wound. She cringed. "You know what..." She reached down and yanked the knife out of her leg, making a squelching sound as the knife was pulled free of the flesh. She didn't so much as flinch.

"Didn't that hurt," Combo said, alarmed at the rudie's suddenness with the action.

"A little," she said. "But it'll pass." She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a bottle of alcohol and a roll of bandages. She tore off a long strip from the bandages and pored some alcohol onto it and wrapped it around her leg. "There," she said, slightly pleased with herself. She looked up at Combo. He noticed that the sunglasses were missing one lens, and he could see one sea green eye. "Can I crash here for the night?" Combo jumped.

"Yea, sure! I don't think Corn'll mind. But you'll have to ask him 'for you decide to stay." The rudie nodded.

"I will." She tried to push herself up, avoiding putting weight on her leg for as long as possible. But, when she shifted her weight to stay balanced, her leg gave way and she fell. Combo caught her, and blushed as he realized _where _he had caught her.

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Corn skated into the Garage, still looking at the strange piece of paper. He sighed, rubbed the back of his neck, and looked up. His eyes grew wide as saucers. "What the...!" Combo turned as dark as he possibly could, standing the rudie upright as he did so.

"It was an accident!" Corn nodded, though still unbelieving. The rudie skated lamely over to Corn.

"You're Corn, right?"

"Yea, so?" The rudie motioned to her injury.

"You mind if I crash here for the night?" Corn took one look at her leg and agreed. He figured no one could stand that kind of pain for very long.

"Thanks," she said weakly. She shifted all of her weight to her left leg and looked around. "Uh..." Corn picked her up and ground up onto the platform, landing next to the couch. He layed her down.

"There," he said, and skated away.

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Corn quietly climbed the stairs leading to the platform. He skated soundlessly over to the couch. He didn't expect the rudie to be awake and aware of him. "Can't sleep," he asked cautiously. She nodded, her eyes half closed. He sat down next to the couch. "I didn't catch your name," he said.

"I didn't say it." Her voice had a dull edge to it. Corn didn't notice.

"So what is it?" The rudie looked up at the sky, admiring the stars and the full moon.

"Dream," she said, almost sadly. She closed her eyes and awaited another dreamless sleep.

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**_Sleepy sleepy sleepy. _**


	4. Infultration

Chapter 3

Infiltration

The next morning Dream's leg was much better. In fact, the wound had healed so well, that the only trace of it was a small scar. There wasn't any torn muscle or blood clotting underneath it either. "How'd that happen," Corn asked, utterly perplexed. He had never seen a wound heal this fast. Usually, it would take at least a week for a scar to form. Dream pulled out the bottle of alcohol she had use last night and pointed to it. "Alcohol?" Corn shook his head. "Why would...?"

"It's not alcohol," Dream cut him off. "It's an herbal blend I made myself." Corn took another good look at the scar on Dream's leg, which was already beginning to fade.

"I guess it gets rid of scars, too?" Dream nodded.

"Yea," she said. "If it didn't, you wouldn't be able to count the scars on my back alone. It's a good thing my mom taught me to rely more on herbal remedies instead of modern medicine. I don't think anything doctors have come up with would have worked very well." Corn looked at her quizzically, but decided not to ask. Instead, he decided to make small talk to take her mind off of any pain she may have still had.

"So, have you been a rudie for long?" Dream looked up at him. She didn't have her sunglasses because Corn had been nice enough to take them to a glass repair shop. He had hoped it wouldn't take long, but the lens turned out to be almost one-of-a-kind, so they had to make another one. Without them, Dream's eyes were in perfect view. They were a cold, hard green, and yet they still had a lifelessness to them that disturbed Corn to no end.

"Longer than you'd like to know," she answered.

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"How could this happen!" Style sliced through the wooden dummy as though it were cardboard. She was feeling extremely frustrated at the moment. Rhyth and Streak could tell, so they kept out of throwing distance. They were in their old hideout, the one place they could go to plot Laila's demise. It was neatly hidden on the dark outskirts of 99th street, the one place they knew Laila would never had guessed. "He can't see that, he can't!" She finished of the dummy by severing its neck, dislodging its head, as she had hoped to do to Laila. Luckily for her, Style had never had the chance.

"It's of no _real _importance." Rhyth put a hand on Style's shoulder. Style looked back and gave her a withering glare.

"It's of extreme importance! If he finds out...!"

"We know, we know! 'It'll mean the end of us all.' We've heard it a thousand times before," Streak interrupted. Rhyth gave her a warning hand gesture behind her back. Streak shrugged. Style couldn't get rid of her, she was too valuable.

"We'll just have to go get it," Style said gravely.

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Dream pulled her coat around her. The more people stared, the more conspicuous she felt. She looked up at the Goddess's statue and sighed. 'If only...'

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Style waited until the next night to go. She didn't want to fight, just retrieve what Corn had taken. She told Rhyth and Streak to stay back, had said it would be easier if she went alone. So she had. She had worn a pair of sneaker/skates for the occasion. At the moment, she was using the sneakers. She crept silently into the dark Garage, hoping against hope that no one would wake up. So far, so good. 'Corn must have it with him,' she thought. She looked around, and barely spotted Corn not even fifty feet from her. As she crossed the last few feet, she realized that it could only be in one of his pockets. She carefully reached into each one, finally finding what she came for in the fifth one. She inwardly cackled, and disappeared.

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"Dream? Dream, wake up!" Dream groaned as someone gently shook her awake. She looked up at the culprit with slight disdain. She eased her glare when she saw it was Corn. She yawned and stretched, pulling her purple T-shirt above her navel, where a purple navel ring tinkled with little beads.

"Wad up, Corn," she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She noticed he had his hat off. The sunlight bounced off of his tousled blond hair. He looked frantic.

"Did you hear anything last night?" Dream squinted at him, and took a minute to collect her thoughts.

"I heard a ripping sound over where you were, but I was too sleepy to check it out. Why?" Corn sighed, frustrated. He let go of her shoulders.

"Sorry I woke you up," he said, sounding tired. Dream waved away the apology. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"I think I'll go to Dogensaka."

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**_Sorry, it wasn't exactly long, was it?_**


	5. Consolations

Chapter 4

Consolations

Dream dangled her legs over the ledge and watched the people pass by below her. Well, the two or three walking around aimlessly. She looked over at the garbage piled up underneath a really good graffiti tag. 'It wasn't like that before,' she thought. 'People are such pigs!' She looked down, and wasn't surprised to see Corn skating past her. 'He must be looking for me, maybe I'll give him a hint...'

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'She said she was going to Dogensaka.' Corn stopped skating in the middle of the book store, and looked around. 'Where could she be? I've run all over this stupid hill and _still_ haven't seen her! Okay, one more time...'

_Two minutes later..._

Corn landed the jump across to the what he called the "Island". It was right across from the Goddess's statue. He heard someone whistle loudly, and felt a soft, balled up object bounce off of his head. He looked in the direction of the projectile, and saw Dream sitting on a ledge he had overlooked. She didn't have her bandanna, and he looked down to see it crumpled up and lieing at his feet. He picked it up, preformed a boost dash, and jumped the distance between him and Dream. He skidded to the left of her when he landed. "What are you doing up here," he asked, patting his smoking skates. He handed her her bandanna. He hadn't paid attention 'till now, and he realized that she had long, curly... 'White hair?' Dream interrupted his thoughts.

"I knew no one would be able to find me unless I wanted them to." She used her bandanna to hide her hair once again. "It seems I still know Dogensaka like the back of my hand." Corn looked at her funny.

"You've been in Tokyo before?" Dream nodded.

"Any rudie worth their salt has." Corn raised his eyebrows in agreement.

"How long ago was that." Dream smiled mysteriously and began singing "Unwritten" to indicate she wouldn't answer, and that he'd have to figure it out for himself. She jumped off of the ledge and landed gracefully on the ground. Bracing herself, she performed a boost dash and zoomed out of Corn's sight. Corn hummed to himself, and thought 'I'll leave her alone for now.' He jumped over to the "Island" and then over to the Goddess, and then headed towards the Garage.

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Dream by passed Corn as she skated over to the entrance to Shibuya Terminal. She gave him one side glance, smiled, and skated away. He ignored her then. He couldn't pin point where the feeling had come from, but somehow he felt sorry for her. What was she hiding from him? He wanted, needed, to know. But, despite his curiosity, he left her alone for the rest of the afternoon.

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Dream skated into the Garage somewhere around midnight, hoping everyone was asleep. She hoped in vain. Corn appeared out of nowhere and made her stop. He reached out and took her shoulders, pulling her close into a warm embrace. Dream had no idea what was going on, and simply stood there dumbfounded as Corn held her. After a few minutes of confusion on Dream's part, Corn finally let go and skated away. Dream watched him go, and held herself as she felt a shiver run up her spine. 'Does he know?'

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Rhyth watched angrily from her perch above the Garage. She had seen the whole scene unfold before her, and hated Corn all the more for what he had done. 'Tell me Corn,' she thought evilly. 'Would you continue to hurt her if you knew?' She skated away, glaring over her shoulder.

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Dream kept her distance from Corn the next day. He understood, and didn't bother her about it. But, as the day progressed, the tension between them was beginning to become unbearable. Finally he cornered her in Chuo Street. Dream told him to leave her be, and she began to skate past him when he said, "I'm sorry!" She froze, and turned around to look him in the eye. He smiled at her weakly. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "It's just... I... It was an accident. It... Won't happen again." His smile faded and he looked down at the ground. Dream stood still for a few seconds, and Corn could feel his face turning every shade of red. Without warning, Dream skated over to him and ducked under him and looked at him upside down. She grinned widely when she saw how red he was, and simply stated,

"I forgive you!"

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**_As always, it was short. Sorry, it just seemed like a good place to end! Anyway, I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I was feeling a little low. Nothing a little writing and prayer can't fix, though. I hope you enjoyed this installment of FAS. Please review(flames accepted)!_**


	6. Love:Good and Bad

Chapter 5

**_I need to say this before someone tries to sue me. I only own Dream, Rhyth, Style, Streak, and any other characters that may come into the story later on. I do not own anyone from or associated with JSRF. Thank you._**

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Style clapped her hands over her ears. "You're lieing!" She screamed at Rhyth. Tears brimmed her hazel eyes. Rhyth sighed and shrugged.

"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, I guess. That's what I saw." Style shook her head, reached out and slapped Rhyth. She shook it off.

"So, he's fallen in love with her too!" The waterworks began to flow freely over her cheeks. Streak skated into their hideout. She saw Style, and had to force back a bark of laughter.

"I overheard from outside," she struggled to say. "What's it matter to you?"

'Streak, you just don't know when to shut up, do you?' Rhyth thought miserably.

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Cube silently skated away from the chaos coming from IM's hideout. She kept to the shadows as she slowly made her way back to the Garage. 'Corn's gonna _love _this,' she thought.

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Dream listened as Cube relayed her news to Corn. She let a little bubble of hatred form in her heart, but it was soon condemned elsewhere. "That idiot," she hissed to herself. Corn began skating towards her, so she skated away into Dogensaka, still fuming.

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Corn listened patiently as Cube told him what had happened. To tell the truth, he didn't really care. There was nothing Style could do about it. So what if...? 'Am I really going to betray Laila's memory?' He sighed, thanked Cube, and skated towards Dream's hiding place, just in time to see her skate away. He didn't really have to look where she was going. He had a pretty good idea. He blanched. "Oh please, tell me she didn't overhear!" He skated after her franticly.

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It took Corn about half an hour to catch up with Dream. She led him through Dogesaka Hill, Shibuya Terminal, and Chuo Street before he caught her. She was waiting for him on one of Chuo Street's buildings, sitting down and leaning up against another one. "What took you so long," she asked as he stooped over to catch his breath. He looked up and almost smiled.

"Hey, come on! You ought to know how agile you are!" He stood up and became a little more serious. "Dream, I..." Dream held up her hand to silence him, and motioned for him to sit next to her. Corn sat down, propping up one of his legs and laying his arm on it. Dream looked over at him. She held the perfect poker face behind her sunglasses. She sighed, and layed her head on his shoulder. Corn didn't really expect this, but he didn't mind either. He wrapped his other arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer.

"I know what you're thinking," she said. Corn looked down at her intently, willing her to go on before he spoke. Dream mumbled to herself, and continued. "I guess only one word will tell you..." She looked into his eyes, smiled coyly, and said, "Yes." She pushed herself forward and pressed her lips against his.

'I just...I don't believe it,' Corn thought. Dream pulled away and looked up at him.

"I have a secret, and you can't tell anyone."

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Corn skated into the Garage, holding Dream tightly and tickling her neck. He kissed her again and pulled her closer. Gum looked at the little spectacle and smiled slightly. 'I haven't seen him this happy since Laila. I wonder what see did to him?'

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**_I think that's a good place to stop. Sorry for the long wait, had another idea. Authors will understand. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little nugget, and if you would, please review. I'd love to hear what you think! And if you have time, could you please go read Scripture? It's traffic is very slow. Pls and thx!_**


	7. Rhythm's Decision

Chapter Six

Corn looked over at Dream. She was saying something to Combo. She moved her hands in an odd way, and Combo's uproarious laughter could have been heard on 99th street. She put her hand behind her neck, waiting for him to stop. When he did, he gave her a high five and skated away. Dream turned around and skated over to Corn, catching him in her arms. "What was that all about?" he asked. Dream shrugged.

"Nothing much," she said. She kissed him and skated away. Corn happily shook his head and skated towards Dogensaka. Routine, again. Sometimes, Corn got bored with his own sweeping schedule.

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"No! We have to get rid of her!"

"Style, killing her isn't going to solve your problems. In fact, it'll probably make things worse." Rhythm leaned against the maroon wall, waiting patiently for Style to stop fuming.

"I'll won't stop hating her," Style growled at her. Rhythm just shrugged.

"You'll _never_ stop hating _anyone_, what's your point?" She skated over to Style and knocked her upside the head. Streak stood well away on the other side of the room and wondered how Rhythm was able to do something like that and not get in trouble. Streak would have been beaten half to death if she had done that! It wasn't fair. Rhythm shook her head at Style and began to speak: "Being that way isn't good for your health."

"Oh? And you're some kind of Doi Takeo?" Style sneered.

"That is my aspiration in life, yes." Rhythm took Style's face in both of her hands and stared at her. "You worry me." Style snorted and jerked her head away, some of her emerald hair slapping Rhythm's hands. Her face set in stone, Rhythm let her hands fall to her sides. She slowly balled them into white-knuckled fists. "Fine," she spat defiantly. "If you don't want my help, _I won't offer it anymore!_" She flung open the door and skated out into 99th Street, the bright sun making her black hair bleed purple.

"That went well," Streak grumbled to herself.

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'_Why can't she just get over him?!_' Rhythm pumped her arms, increasing her speed and heartbeat. How exhilarating!

Rhythm despised Corn. _Loathed _him. If it weren't for Style, she would kill him without batting an eye. Then again, if not for Style, Rhythm and Corn could have been friends...

But no. Style was her main priority. Not Corn, not Laila, and _especially _not this new fixation of his.

But Rhythm could see it. She could see Style letting herself rot on the inside. Because of him. Would it really hurt so much for her to know that he hated her? For her to no longer have a sense of false hope, of blind denial? Maybe, but Rhythm was willing to take that risk and to make that sacrifice if necessary.

'_Is Style?_' she thought bleakly.

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She skidded to a halt, her dark form menacing and stark against the blinding sunlight. Corn scowled and visibly shuddered.

"I have a proposition," she said, her voice emotionless, monotone.

"So?" he spat. Rhythm's shoulders sagged.

"You don't know how hard..."

"It isn't hard enough if you're here," he cut her off.

"Would you shut up for a minute?" Her voice was harsh and hoarse, her lips curled back over her teeth. "Can you even begin to understand how much pain you've caused?"

"I don't care."  
"You should!" she screamed. '_How dare this infuriating boy..._' She cut her thought short and slowly regained her composer. "You should," she said again, softer this time.

"Why?" he asked, disdain dripping from his one word. Rhythm didn't answer. "Exactly," he almost sighed.

"It would be something you liked."

"What?"

"My proposition:" she said, "it would be something you liked. Just tell her one thing, straight to her face. And you'll never see us again." Corn knew who she was talking about and was slightly interested. Maybe there wouldn't have to be a major conflict to make them disappear.

"What?" he asked again.

"Tell her that you hate her."

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'_Did I do the right thing?_' Rhythm stretched out her leg, careful to put her weight on the ball of her foot. She held her skates aloft while the moonlight illuminated the many brown calluses on her white feet. Slowly, so that it wouldn't creak, she pushed open the door, hoping against hope that neither Style nor Streak was still awake. No such luck. Streak's yellow eyes glistened in the white light that now flooded the front room.

"Have fun on your errand?" she asked coolly. Rhythm sneered.

"If by fun you mean 'destroy the one thing that makes me happy', then yes." Streak nodded.

"I thought so. Are you going to tell her?"

"No warning," Rhythm replied darkly.

"For the best."

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_**Of course it is. So I finally finished it. I hope you enjoyed the wonderful shortness of it. This chapter was really just to move things along and help shed light on the relationship between Style, Rhythm, and Corn. Because it is so uncomplicated.**_

_**I originally meant for "Rhyth" to be "Rhythm". It was just a typo that I didn't catch until someone commented on it. So, sorry if it was a little confusing for a while.**_

_**Disclaimer: I only own Dream, Streak, Style, Rhythm, and Laila (and any reference to her.)**_


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